


Senju

by chararii



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Ambiguous Relationships, BAMF Haruno Sakura, F/F, Fanfic for Fanart, Gen, Haruno Sakura & Yamanaka Ino Friendship, Organized Crime, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26217220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chararii/pseuds/chararii
Summary: “...Saku-chan?” Even if she wanted to, Ino couldn't have stopped the whisper from making its way past her lips. Images of a bright and lively pink-haired girl flooded her mind, of giggles and breathless laughter, of notes passed between them during class. Until one day, Sakura had failed to come to school. And the day after. And the day after that. Ino had never seen her again. Then-“You could have told me that my best friend wasn't lying dead in a ditch somewhere!” Ino howled, nails sharp and teeth bared, ready to lash out. Anything to keep the relief, pain and tears at bay. She had loved Sakura like a sister for eight whole years and never gotten over her disappearance. Except now here she was, older, scarred, meaner and so entirely unaffected it tore her apart from the inside.“I was.”When Ino was fourteen, her best friend disappeared. When Ino was twenty-one, Sakura returned.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Tsunade, Haruno Sakura & Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 9
Kudos: 99
Collections: THE naruto fic list, Team 7 🌀, why im sleep deprived 💖✨





	Senju

**Author's Note:**

> Instead of making fanart for my fanfic, I guess I'm writing a short fanfic for my fanart. It's not that elaborate and little more than some minor exploration of the AU which I drew.
> 
> My original premise for the fanart: Crime/Yakuza AU in which Sakura is a high school dropout who brawled her way all the way to the top until she became the Senju princess' favoured bruiser.
> 
> Once again, image is too big so gotta scroll left and right.

“Ahhhh.... finally. No more studying. No more exams. Vacatiooon!” Ino rolled her eyes at Naruto's antics and slid onto a stool as far away from him as possible. The blonde was a clumsy drunk and, vividly recalling the last time they'd been out to drink as a group, Ino made sure to be well out of his reach. One ruined designer bag was enough.

“Be quiet, idiot. This isn't like the campus cafe. If you cause too much of a ruckus, they'll throw you out,” Sasuke hissed as he took the bullet for the rest and chose a seat next to his best friend. One after another, everyone gathered around their chosen table. Hinata, as predicted, claimed the other available seat right next to Naruto, while Tenten, Lee and Neji clustered together on the far side of the table, opposite of Kiba and Shino. Ino smiled when Choji and Shikamaru joined her. It was the same song and dance they'd repeated for years, ever since their group had more or less fused together during their senior year of high school.

“Don't be such a downer,” the botany student pouted which prompted Sasuke to roll his eyes.

“Are.. are you sure we should be here?” Hinata asked, voice hushed and hands nervously rubbing against each other beneath the table. Ino frowned, about to speak up and ask for an explanation, when Sasuke replied with a frown:

“It's Friday. My uncle meets with them every Friday. We'll be fine.” Ino exchanged glances with Choji and Shikamaru. A single look at the latter told her all she needed to know. The Nara knew precisely what this was about, except he refused to share.

“I sometimes forget your father works with them as well,” the Uchiha added underneath his breath, followed by a calculating squint directed as the Hyuuga heiress.

“It- it's all above board,” she replied quietly yet firmly. Sasuke snorted.

“Sure.”

“Hey hey, what are you guys talking about?!” Ino flinched at the sudden interruption and before she realised it, had already raised her right arm to reach around the Uchiha and smack Naruto, when the former beat her to it.

“This is a Senju bar.” Silence followed in the wake of Neji's apathetic mutter. The dubbed prince of pre-law studied the menu in front of him, perfectly unfazed by the attention.

“A... _what_?!” Tenten ground out, hands balled to fists, ready to attack the Uzumaki at the drop of a hat. Ino felt herself echoing the sentiment. What the actual fuck had that numbskull been thinking, dragging them to a fucking Yakuza bar out of all places?

“Are you shitting me, Naruto?!” The blonde in question blinked in confusion, then raised his head and looked around. Ino followed his line of sight and oh, there it was. A large gilded Senju crest attached to the back wall of the establishment.

“Huh. I had no idea,” he admitted with a nervous chuckle while rubbing the back of his head. Sasuke closed his eyes in resignation at the same time as Lee placed his hand on Tenten's shoulder. He was the only one able and willing to keep up with their resident MMA fighter. If that girl decided to vault over the table and strangle the idiot, nobody else could stop her.

“We should go,” Choji decided, already rearing himself to leave. Ino fervently agreed. While their families were allied and subtle as well as understated, they'd never quite managed to avoid the Senju's attention. Japan's largest and most powerful criminal organisation ruled the country with an iron fist and had done so ever since the Senju brothers had taken control of the syndicate. Ino wasn't very knowledgeable on the subject though her continued friendship with the Uchiha had supplied her with the odd tidbit of information over the years.

The old head, father of the current leaders, had been too interested in waging war against the country's police force. His hatred for the Uchiha had nearly brought his family to ruin. It had fallen to his eldest, who had grown up alongside Madara who was the current leader of the police force, to forge an alliance that allowed both to flourish.

Sure, some people might have opinions on a corrupt police working with the kind of criminals that dabble in human trafficking, assassination, political manipulation, drug rings, illegal gambling... Ino had no idea where the list ended. Not that it mattered much. Every single soul in Japan knew exactly who ruled the country and while it wasn't ideal, if one kept their head down and went along with their will, it worked out well enough.

A gaggle of university students causing a ruckus in one of their frequented bars was about as far from keeping one's head down as possible.

“I'm not walking across town to find another bar. I told you. It's Friday. If they're busy drinking sake in my granduncle's mansion, they won't be drinking sake here.” That sounded like a weak argument to Ino who remembered that one time her father had come home almost beaten to death for having refused to disclose a patient's files to the Senju who asked for them. While the Senju princess was all in favour of making sure their forces' minds were as stable as possible, her granduncle didn't always share her opinion.

Ino supposed it made sense that one didn't necessarily want their men to spill their woes over crimes they may or may not have committed to a civilian psychologist. She merely wished her clan hadn't been chosen to take in the few gangster who had been allowed to seek help.

“They're not going to come after a couple of rich clan kids,” Kiba declared which was wrong on so many levels Ino had no idea where to start. Out of all of them, only Sasuke and Hinata were under the Senju's protection. Everyone else was fair game. Especially Naruto who never failed to get himself into trouble.

“Eh. It'll be fine. If the bastard says it's cool, it's cool.” An uneasy silence settled over their table. Some handled it better than others and Ino was beyond surprised at how calm Hinata, out of all people, remained. She didn't know much about the girl despite their best friend status and couldn't help but wonder just how much time she actually spent in the company of thieves and murderers.

After a while the stress faded and they settled into a comfortable routine. Order drinks, drink, laugh, order more drinks. Tenten even got Neji to nurse a cup of sake which was met by a round of cheers by everyone else. In all their years together, they'd been able to count the number of times that pretty ponce had resorted to drinking on one hand. Despite the earlier hiccup, this was shaping up to be a relaxing and enjoyable evening among friends.

Until it wasn't. Caught in heir drunken haze, nobody noticed that sudden absence of noise. The same soft traditional music continued playing while the clinking of bottles faded into nothingness only to be replaced by a steady rhythm of heels clicking across polished wooden panels.

“S-Senju-hime! W-We didn't expect you here, tonight!” Ino froze. Naruto, who was currently in the middle of quite loudly recalling an amusing tale of his childhood, missed the barman's nervous stuttering. With unmatched speed, Sasuke forced a hand over the blonde's mouth, eyes hard, body tense. The rest of heir table sobered up almost immediately and finally, Ino dared to direct her gaze at the bar's entrance.

Their group was relatively small, a mixture of men and women. Five men, all of which were dressed in identical suits flanked a trio of women who couldn't help but stand out. Leading them was a tall blonde with hair reaching down all the way to her ass and a body so muscled and hard Ino would likely break her hand if she tried to punch it. A pair of sunglasses rested on the crown of her head and her ensemble of dark combat pants and grey bra-like top did little to hide the faded red Senju crest that proudly sat on her right forearm or the numerous scars on her stomach. While Ino had never met, or even aspired to see, her in person she could match the title of the Senju princess, Tsunade, to this vision of a woman instantly.

In comparison, the other two were almost non-descript. One had bright red hair that Ino could've sworn she saw before, and was clad in a suit that cost more than half of Ino's shoe closet. The other one wore shorts and a dark hoodie that exposed a similarly toned body which had its own fair share of scars. Her tattoo was a more vivid red, suggesting she was much younger than her blonde companion. The hood covered most of her face except for a few strands of pink hair. Something at the back of Ino's mind called for her attention though the voice was too quiet for her to notice it.

“Oh fuck. That's my cousin,” Naruto wailed quietly as he hunkered down in what looked like a sad attempt at hiding behind a blushing Hinata.

“That red-haired hellion is an Uzumaki?” Sasuke asked as they watched the Senju make their way through the establishment to a table at the back of the room. The seats were of noticeably higher quality than the ones Ino's friends were sitting on.

“I didn't know you were related to Karin,” Hinata murmured, pale eyes following the woman's every move even as she sipped on her sweet berry liquor.

“I didn't know _you_ knew Karin!” the blond exclaimed only to be silenced by the Uchiha once more.

“She's the Senju liaison who deals with our family. Father asked Hanabi and I to join their meetings a few months ago. I see her on a bi-weekly basis,” the Hyuuga explained with a total lack of stutter which had Ino raise her perfectly plucked brows.

“Does anyone on this table not have a deal with those gangsters?” Tenten muttered darkly before knocking back her sake. Lee and her were the only two who were not born into well-off and established families, who had reached everything they wanted purely on their own merit. Even Ino relied on her father's wealth. It was people like them who had the least amount of tolerance for the way the country was run.

“We only breed their dogs. I'm entirely innocent, yeah?” Kiba replied, completely missing the point and only reinforcing Tenten's sour disposition.

“I don't know why we're still here. Everyone else is leaving,” Choji pointed out. He was right. All around them, patrons gathered their belongings and left the bar. Ino would have felt snubbed despite being aware that they were only doing what was expected. If the Senju claimed a space for their own, those who didn't vacate it immediately risked bearing the brunt of their anger.

“Yeah, we should go-”

“Hyuuga-sama.” Naruto's mouth snapped shut with an audible click upon being faced with two men in suits. The wide cut of their jackets did little to hide the faint outline of the guns strapped to their hips. Or the sharp knives attached to their thighs.

“You and your friends have been invited to join Senju-hime. Uzumaki-sama had good things to say about you.” Translation: The Senju heiress was set to take over the syndicate once her grandfather retired and was looking to foster her relationship with the next Hyuuga clan head. Ino gulped. One didn't say no to someone like Senju Tsunade.

“We would be honoured to. Some of us were looking to head home early, so please excuse them.” Naruto's mouth fell open upon hearing the change in Hinata's voice and the sheer professionalism in every single word.

“Yeah... we're gonna go. Um, thanks for the invitation.” Tenten practically dragged Lee and Neji from their seats. Ino, who was too busy staring at Hinata, missed her window of opportunity. Between one moment and the next, Choji and Shikamaru had left, followed by Kiba and Shino. She swallowed audibly as she rose from her seat, attempting to keep the shaking in her hands to a minimum. What had the world come to, she wondered as she observed Hinata lead their group towards certain doom with the grace and ease of an heiress. A side which she had never shown to them.

“Why's Hina-chan so different?” Naruto whispered, voice low enough that only Sasuke and Ino could understand him.

“I thought you knew,” Sasuke murmured as Hinata bowed deeply upon reaching the Senju table, followed by a small smile directed at the blonde female.

“Senju-hime is her godmother. She basically grew up with that family.” Ino almost stumbled and only barely managed to turn her blunder into a bow of her own.

“Are you fucking kidding me-”

“You're still with my idiot cousin? I thought you'd have upgraded by now.” The redheaded Uzumaki sneered at Naruto from where she lounged in her seat, one leg casually crossed over the other while holding a drink in between dainty fingers.

“Naruto-kun is a good man,” Hinata replied diplomatically as she sat down with little more than a faint blush colouring her cheeks.

“I remember Kushina. Good head on her shoulders. Too bad she got herself disowned.” Shivers ran down Ino's spine as the blonde Senju spoke up for the first time. Her voice was rich and silky, lowered by her advanced age that only showed itself in faint lines around her eyes.

“Mito would welcome her back if only she wanted to,” Karin spoke casually and Ino wondered whether it was her position or family relation that allowed her to be so blasé when addressing the second most powerful woman in the country.

“My mom is happy. She doesn't need you.” Sasuke's elbow jab came too late and Ino couldn't help but dig her fingers into her thighs. Naruto's temper could be a death sentence. Lucky for him, the Senju seemed more amused than insulted. The woman snorted once, then knocked back a cup of sake before wrapping her right arm around the shoulders of the hooded women next to her.

“Your quaint little family home is still watched over by our men. The banishment was more of a formal gesture than anything. Mito is a family woman. Don't open your mouth like an idiot and spout all that nonsense when you still profit from us,” Karin drawled lazily and righted her glasses while signalling for another round of drinks.

“You know nothing about-”

“Naruto-kun will relay the offer to his mother. We are very grateful.” This time, Ino couldn't stop herself from openly gaping at Hinata. A quick glance told her that she was not alone in that reaction.

“Your father raised you well,” the blonde grunted, her fingers dancing along the sleeve of the hooded woman's jacket in an almost loving gesture. Ino gulped and averted her eyes. The less she knew, the better off she was.

“All thanks to you,” the Hyuuga murmured demurely. Stories of a young Hinata being kidnapped from her home by the American mafia and the bloody yet brutally short war where the Senju had taken up arms against the offenders, entered Ino's mind. The more she thought about it, the more she realised just how tightly bound almost her entire circle fo friends was to the Senju syndicate.

“Enough of that. Shizune told me you're at the top of your class. Tell me about your studies,” the Senju princess demanded, leaving Ino to quietly despair over the fact that even the head of Japan's most prestigious medical school was associated with those criminals.

She counted her blessings that she was of little to no interest and was left alone. Despite that, Ino dialled down her alcohol intake and made sure to never let her drink out of sight. Amicable atmosphere or not, she wouldn't trust any of these people with her life.

Hinata and the Senju conversed easily with Naruto busying himself with Sasuke who, as part of the main family, was occasionally invited to chat along. Being more tolerated than welcome, Ino had plenty of time to try and ignore all the subtleties in the interactions of those Senju. By far the hardest to ignore, was the obvious affection shared between the princess and the woman by her side. Nobody else seemed interested in their proximity so Ino assumed their relationship, whatever its nature, was widely known and accepted. Then again, Ino doubted many people could side-eye the blonde and live to tell the tale.

“Hmm... my schedule doesn't allow me to attend your recital. Though just to make sure, I will send additional security. Sakura will make sure you're fine.” Ino blinked, then frowned as her mind came to a sudden halt.

“Sakura?” She had echoed the name before noticing, staring at the Senju who had spoken it in the first place. Ino flushed furiously at the sudden attention, then casually waved her hand from side to side.

“My apologies. I had a childhood friend with that name before she dropped out of school and we kinda lost contact. Sorry for interrupting,” she babbled with a nervous laugh and didn't notice the subtle twitch of the hooded female's shoulders. The Senju raised a single brow before resuming her conversation with Hinata. Ino breathed a sigh of relief. Disaster averted.

“Uh, Ino, this is probably not the best time to tell you that-”

“Ah ah ah, Uchiha. You're cute but not cute enough to butt your nose into business you shouldn't get involved with.” Ino looked from Sasuke to Karin, then back to Sasuke. Were she anywhere else she'd demand an explanation and yell until she received it. Yet here and now... she bit the inside of her cheek to make sure her natural instincts didn't rear their ugly head.

“Eh? What do you mean?” Trust Naruto to ignore the presence of crime bosses.

“Stay out of it, brat.” The hardness and pure steel in the blonde's voice nearly inspired Ino to cower. Her hazel eyes had darkened considerably. Gone was the casual, if rough woman who had listened to her godchild's tales of university life. In her place was the feared and infamous granddaughter of the country's most brutal man.

“Don't tell me what to do, old-” One moment, everything was normal. The next, the hooded woman had lunged across the table and kicked Naruto out of his seat. One hand around his throat, she sat on top of his chest, every single lean muscle in her body tense and ready to reduce the blonde to a bloody mess.

“He's an idiot, but an idiot who's my cousin. Let him go, Sakura.” Just then, the hood shifted and from its depths spilled shoulder-length pink strands of hair. Time came to a sudden halt as Ino's eyes went wide and her heart rose to her throat.

“...Saku-chan?” Even if she wanted to, Ino couldn't have stopped the whisper from making its way past her lips. Images of a bright and lively pink-haired girl flooded her mind, of giggles and breathless laughter, of notes passed between them during class. Until one day, Sakura had failed to come to school. And the day after. And the day after that. Ino had never seen her again. Then-

“Wait. You _knew_?!” Fuck the presence of gangsters. Ino's fury was back and while getting angry at Sasuke came to her naturally, being this angry at Hinata was a new experience. She didn't let it stop her.

“We weren't even friends back then. And I only met Sakura once or twice? I didn't even recognise her until a year ago or so,” Sasuke defended himself to Ino's ever growing wrath.

“I was asked not to tell,” Hinata added quietly, prompting a low growl to escape Ino's throat.

“You could have told me that my best friend wasn't lying dead in a ditch somewhere!” Ino howled, nails sharp and teeth bared, ready to lash out. Anything to keep the relief, pain and tears at bay. She had loved Sakura like a sister for eight whole years and never gotten over her disappearance. Except now here she was, older, scarred, meaner and so entirely unaffected it tore her apart from the inside.

“I was.” Ino clamped her hand across her mouth as she heard her voice. It had barely changed, only lowered in pitch, gotten a little rougher. Everything else was still the same and she'd recognise it anywhere.

“I think we're done here for tonight. Damn kids,” the Senju heiress grumbled and got out of her seat after downing her last cup of sake. Without giving Ino another glance, Sakura rejoined the older woman, waiting patiently while the blonde said her goodbyes to Hinata. Ino couldn't move. Only when they began making their way towards the exit, did life return to her bones.

“Sakura!” she called out, unsure what else to say or even think. Unsure about what she even wanted. Hell, this wasn't her childhood friend anymore. Yet on the other hand... Ino's heart ached and wailed and wanted nothing more than to reach out to a woman who had become little more than a stranger.

“I... Can we... stay. Please?” She wasn't begging. Not at all. Ino's heart pounded inside her chest as she waited with bated breath for Sakura to turn around and acknowledge her.

“You have ten minutes,” the Senju proclaimed before taking the rest of her men and joining Karin outside. Where Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto had gone off to, Ino didn't know or even care about.

“You... how... how are you?” The question fell flat but Ino wasn't ready, wasn't prepared for answers she had longer for for years.

“Good. Busy. You know how it is,” the pink-haired woman replied with a shrug as she leaned against the wall, face mostly hidden by her hood.

“...yes.” No. Ino did not, in fact, know how it was. Fighting with herself about how to approach the elephant between them, Ino's breath hitched when Sakura spoke up instead.

“My parents were killed when I was fourteen. They were bankers for the Senju. Did some money laundering on the side. Got taken out by some small-time gangsters,” she said, unaffected by the way Ino's lower lip began to wobble.

“When the Senju came to investigate, they found me half-dead outside of our house. They took me with them, paid for the hospital bills and shit. Saved my life, so I owed them. I didn't want to bother with school stuff anymore. Just seemed pointless. So I dropped out and worked on paying off my debt instead.” Ino sniffled once and tilted her head backwards. Sakura had been fourteen. Parent-less, scared, nearly dead and then indebted to the Yakuza. Fucking hell...

“Started out as a runner but kept getting into fights. I had some serious anger issues back then. After getting beat up a shitton of times I eventually got better I guess. Noticed I had a talent for it. I began making some extra money on the side by fighting in the ring until one of the minor bosses recruited me as a brawler. The money was good and I got to fuck up some people. Was pretty good.” Ino searched Sakura for any hint, no matter how small, that her childhood friend was still in there somewhere.

“At some point I became a favourite in the ring. Bets rose higher and higher until the numbers became large enough to attract hime's attention. She came to watch me fight and kept returning. One day, she challenged me herself. I was sixteen and an idiot so I accepted and got fucked up three ways from Sunday,” Sakura snorted and shook her head. Ino thought about being faced with the Senju princess, then looked at Sakura. She couldn't describe the feeling clogging up her throat. Couldn't find words to express the sheer emotion threatening to overwhelm her. Tiny cute Sakura, staring down the unshakeable tower of power and steel and somehow coming out alive.

“Must've done something right since she claimed me for herself. She trained me personally, turned me into the strongest heavy-hitter of her personal guard. The job paid extremely well. On my seventeenth birthday I delivered my last check. She gave me the offer to stay. That kinda life was the only one I'd known for three years and it wasn't like I had anywhere else to go so I took the mark.” She made it sound like she had decided between two pairs of shoes. Not like she had signed her future, soul and life away to an international crime syndicate.

“Saved her life twice. The second time got me the diamond. They give it to only the highest ranking and most exemplary female members of their organisation. There's Mito-sama, hime and me. Only three. That was when I knew I was going to stay by her side for the rest of my life.” Her words sounded so final. All at once, Ino realised how vast and wide the chasm between was. They might have been friends once and while Ino still loved Sakura with all her heart... the memory slowly gave way for the image in front of her.

“Are you... lovers?” She wasn't even sure why she asked. Why it mattered. It didn't, not really, but fuck Ino had lost all ground beneath her feet, had mourned the girl for years, thought her dead and she just wanted Sakura to be _happy..._

“She is my partner.” Ino released a shaky breath and deflated, tired and worn-out.

“...good,” she said and meant it. Whatever that meant. Partner was an ambiguous choice. Ino found she didn't care. As long as Sakura was alive and happy... fuck, nothing else mattered.

“My ten minutes are over,” the woman declared and pushed her body off the wall. Turning around to leave with a lazy wave of her hand, she stopped once more when Ino rushed closer until her hand hovered just above her bare forearm.

“I... I'll ask Hina to give you my number. Maybe... if you have a day off or something... we should meet up. Go out for tea? I... I've missed you.” Sakura was still and silent for a long time. Ino bit her lip and averted her gaze, fighting hard against the disappointment budding in her chest.

“Yeah. Okay.” With those final words, Sakura left Ino behind. Ino, who breathed in relief, then raised her hands to her forehead, then her eyes. She felt weightless and heavy all at once, eventually slid down the wall onto the ground as years and years of grief unravelled themselves to give way for near overwhelming relief and hope.

Perhaps, just perhaps, having closer ties to the Senju wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Still firmly stuck in art hell but I will eventually return to writing more frequently. Hope you liked this. :)


End file.
